LPL Financial LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)

LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 380,837 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 9,628 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.34% of AllianceBernstein worth $14,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein during the first quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in AllianceBernstein by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,150 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 2,575 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AB shares. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $37.50 to $34.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of AllianceBernstein from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $42.25 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.67.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

Shares of AB opened at $40.23 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.94, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.81. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a fifty-two week low of $32.28 and a fifty-two week high of $43.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.05.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.01). AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 8.35% and a return on equity of 18.63%. The firm had revenue of $844.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $853.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. AllianceBernstein's payout ratio is presently 90.21%.

Insider Transactions at AllianceBernstein

In other AllianceBernstein news, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 4,825 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $196,860.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 39,877 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,626,981.60. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

AllianceBernstein Company Profile

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm is a related adviser The firm manages separate client focused portfolios for its clients. The firm primarily invests in common and preferred stocks, warrants and convertible securities, government and corporate fxed-income securities, commodities, currencies, real estate-related assets and infation-protected securities.

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